


in the name of hypocrisy and popularity

by pastelcalligraphy



Category: Psycho but it's okay - Fandom, 사이코지만 괜찮아 | It's Okay To Not Be Okay (TV) RPF, 사이코지만 괜찮아 | It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (TV)
Genre: Fandom, Popularity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:27:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27248008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelcalligraphy/pseuds/pastelcalligraphy
Summary: You know what this fandom will get? Burn out.Have some faith in your favorite actress and her project choices. Give her a little credit. She will take on more challenging roles, and together with this initial hype she got, she will get that popularity award without her fans having to resort to a practice commonly done in Kpop fandoms.
Comments: 37
Kudos: 31





	in the name of hypocrisy and popularity

I’ve been watching Korean dramas since late 2000s, and the level of love that I have for Seo Yea-ji is on a different level. It is very rare to find someone like her in the industry. I never had the chance to make a Twitter or Instagram account dedicated for her, and I am confident that I am missing out on the pertinent aspects of her life. However, despite these things, I know that she is a precious human being.

Her speech during the Buil Film Awards where she won the Most Popular Actress was so heartwarming. 

She said, “Hello, I’m Seo Yea-ji. Thanks for inviting me to Buil Awards 2020. To all the staffs who worked hard, thank you. And it's an award given by fans, to yeji yechan, yeyes, international fans, honestly thank you.”

I was so touched that I decided to stalk the hashtag (Is that what you call it?) Buil Film Awards, and it brought me back to a post in September 6, posted by a Korean user who asked international fans to vote for Yang Jeong-won, so that his fandom will also vote for Yeji in the Buil Awards.

It turns out this voting exchange/alliance is commonly done. And I tried so hard not to let it bother me. Anyway, I was checking out the tags on Twitter the other day, and I saw that, apparently, there’s a conflict among Yeyes and shippers. I tried to dig around, and I was able to surmise the following information:

  1. There was the Asia Artist Awards (AAA) and APAN Star Awards. 
    1. For AAA, you can use various tactics to make your idol win. This includes strategizing when you will drop hearts etc.
    2. For APAN Star Awards, you have to purchase hearts, and there is actually a limit to the number of times a person can vote per day.
  2. Now, I’m guessing that the Yeyes wanted to secure a win for Yeaji in the APAN. That’s understandable because it is the more prestigious award show, especially for actors. However, I’m also guessing that they are not sure about their resources. Is it enough? Are Yeyes rich enough to buy hearts in that app? (Again, I might be missing several points because all I did was look through various threads and piece together the discussion)
  3. In order to solve this, Yeyes partnered with another fandom. They will vote for that fandom in AAA (or APAN?) while the idol’s fandom will deliver for Yeji in APAN (the one that requires people to pay in order to vote).



So hypothetically speaking, if Yeaji wins in the APAN, it will be because her fans exchanged votes with another fandom. Her fans voted for the idol in AAA while the idol’s fans shelled out cash (I don’t even want to think about how much) just so Yeaji can be secured a win. 

In short, the person actually “voting” for Yeajii isn’t a Yeye (unless that idol fan happens to have watched PBIO or Lawless Lawyer or any of her previous works). 

According to the Seoul Music Awards, a popularity award is defined as:

“Popularity Awards are awarded to performers who gained popularity during the year, usually two in each year, the winners chosen by online voting. The nominee pool comes from the nominees for the Bonsang and the Newcomer awards.”

I’m assuming similar logic applies to APAN, and the same definition is known by the artists who got nominated and won popularity awards in the past (albeit in a different awards show).

I don’t know how to feel about this. Based on her speech, Yeaji is happy because Yeyes gave her the award. It’s not because she is the most popular… It is because the award was from her fanbase. 

This got me thinking about the voting strategy that is being used for APAN. Idol bases are often bigger than actors. The idol-actor’s fandom needs the help of the Yeyes because they’re going against another massive fandom. They are voting for Yeji in APAN because they needed that extra boost in order for their idol-actor to win in AAA. Yeyes are agreeing because it costs a lot of money on their part, something that the relatively young fandom might not be able to afford. 

So we have several non-Yeyes voting for Yeaji in APAN, just so Yeji can get that award. And when Yeaji receives that award in November, she will receive it and give her speech, thinking that all along, it ORGANICALLY came from the Yeyes whom she treasured and loved so much.

Does she know that the vote exchange happened just so K-yeyes can secure her that Buil Award? Will she ever know that this voting tactic for APAN happened? 

Actually, let’s ask a better question: **Is she even aware that vote exchanges exist in the first place?**

Because from what I'm seeing, Kpop stans are the ones who are aware that vote exchanges are actually called "strategies". For casual drama watchers, they call it "cheating."

According to some IG pages, Yeaji didn’t even know how to post on her DC or DG or something Gallery (?????). A Korean Yeye (or is it Yeayea?) had to post and print out instructions for her. Voting alliance exist in Kpop fandom ever since, so it’s a norm, but let’s put it in the context of Yeaji. When she goes up that stage to receive her award, she would thank Yeyes. And because we are talking about popularity awards, it goes with the connotation that the receiver has the biggest and/or most active fandom. 

And that pains me. 

Why are Yeyes so hungry to get her that Popularity Award? Is it because she has been snubbed by award shows ever since? Is that reason enough for Yeyes to strike a deal with another fandom, a tactic that Yeaji might not even be aware of?

I don’t know how Yeji thinks and I’m not going to assume that I know her. However, I wouldn’t blame her if she would think that her fanbase is bigger or more active than all the other fan bases of the actresses who got nominated as well.

The question is: Is it really?

Is her fanbase bigger or more active than Son Ye-jin’s? Kim Go Eun’s? Suzy’s? Or whoever else that got nominated? (I'm assuming those actresses are nominated because they are the ones with shows that aired recently.)

Isn’t pulling this tactic of vote exchanging also deceiving Yeaji into thinking that her fanbase might be bigger than it actually is? Not just Yeji... also the industry--her agency, etc. Yeji is going viral lately, and that is amazing. But does that speak for the size of those part of the solid Yeye fandom?

I am not assuming that she is a feeler, that she thinks she is popular. I'm just trying to say that this train of thought is possible, especially after winning a popularity award. The train of thought that her fandom is way more active or bigger than it actually is can be shared by her agency, producers, and the like... It's not just limited to her. Yes, Yeji is popular and has been going viral lately but that recent hype does not immediately equate to the size of her solid fanbase. And that's okay. She can take her time building it. There's no rush. 

I love this woman, and she deserves all the acting recognition she has been receiving. Her blowing up for her visuals and acting skills is well-deserved. She is a sweet, lovable, and kind human being.

Besides, it's not the award, per se, that matter to her, at least according to her speech. Yeyes are the ones that matter, not really the trophy or the title.

Why can’t her fans trust in her spectacular acting skills instead? Those brilliant scenes she portrayed in all her dramas, especially the recent one, will get her that acting award that she deserves. And her organic popularity will naturally follow.

Why can’t Yeyes just do their best with what they have? Vote up to what they can give without exchanging votes with another fandom? There are a lot of underrated actors and actresses in Korea, and I’ve seen them in various films and shows. I’ve rooted for a lot of them in the past. A good example is Oh Jung-se who has been stellar ever since.

I understand why her fans are thirsty for that award, but this voting tactic that they’re pulling off now is unsettling (and maybe even in the future). There’s no need to rush that popularity award; there’s no need to force it either. 

Not at the cost of making anyone else think that her fandom is way bigger/more active than it actually might be. Not at the cost of stressing out other Yeyes to meet the demand of the other team. Not at the cost of causing people to leave the fandom because of the toxicity voting seasons bring. Not at the cost of ruining the name of Yeji and Yeyes to all other fandoms. It doesn't matter if it's a common practice in the Kpop world.......

Every single time that Yeji will win a popularity award, people will always associate it with vote exchange, not because she is a popular and reputable actress (which she is). Is that what people want? 'Cause that's bound to happen. I already saw it when I was browsing through several tweets the other time. It made me grateful that I didn't have Twitter or IG in the first place. Imagine messing with the reputation of the actor you love just so you can get the Most Popular Award of APAN. Imagine the stress this will have on the other Yeyes who have no choice but to follow. 

You know what this fandom will get? Burn out.

**Have some faith in your favorite actress and her project choices. Give her a little credit. She will take on more challenging roles, and together with this initial hype she got, she will get that popularity award without her fans having to resort to a practice commonly done in Kpop fandoms.**

**And you know what else I find so funny? The same Yeyes who bashed Lee Min ho for all the popularity awards he got are the same Yeyes who are pressuring everyone to get Yeji hers.**

(I saw that beef on Twitter during PBIO era. Imagine looking through the hashtag to check out insightful tweets… only to end up seeing a fanwar.)

**I guess Go Mun-yeong is right: People are hypocrites.**

Anyway, all the best for the PBIO team and most especially, Yeji. Best girl deserves the world, but not this kind of toxicity. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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